Selling.2.YES

July 2018

This skill development method guarantees results!

I often write of John Wooden because….uh, do I have to actually explain? John Wooden was a legend who won tons of national basketball championships while coaching UCLA. He achieved amazing results, but it was his approach that engaged and fascinated me: he “managed performance, not results”, which is one of my favorite business aphorisms.

I fell in love with Wooden’s philosophies (and winning) at a very early age, and as a result, applied only to UCLA as a high school senior. By the time I got to Westwood, the hoops program was a far cry from the Wooden years, but I swear I heard his whispers all around me. I still do. His teachings work as well today as they did when he was winning hoops titles, and I’m not ashamed to admit I’m a Wooden “copy-cat”.

To Wooden, practice time was like being in the classroom, and as a former teacher himself, he took it very seriously. He cherished the idea of focusing on modifying and improving behaviors and habits as the pathway to success. His most famous saying proves how he felt about process and winning:

"Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming."

Also, Wooden popularized a Ben Franklin line, “failing to prepare is preparing to fail” – it’s a classic saying and refers to the importance of preparation and practice, but what exactly does “good practice” look like for B2B selling orgs?

Yes, but table stakes here means you're actually running regular role-playing exercises for your team. If you’re not regularly leading your team through formal “practice sessions” for upcoming meetings and business situations, stop reading! (And, the best of luck to you developing your talent.)

Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming." - John Wooden

I have run training and skill development sessions – REGULARLY – for a long, long time and conclude Wooden’s methods, plus some a few of my minor additions, are a guaranteed approach that will teach your sellers how to do it right. Here’s what you need to consider if you want to run practices that get the results you need:

Run regular skill development sessions. Again…“table stakes”. But most of you don’t do this, so start now! Regular = weekly. One hour each.

Prepare the participants. Role-playing is hard. The lights are strong and bright and you want your sellers to feel successful. Prep them ahead of time. The following sounds funny, but it’s true: you have to “practice” for the “practice”. Trust me. You can’t throw a seller into the center of the room and blurt-out "ok...begin the role-play" without prepping them.

Praise, praise, praise. When the “moves” you want to see are made, PRAISE the player. When they use your value proposition in strategic ways…when they handle objections with grace and strategic dexterity…when they exhibit a superlative method negotiating a sticky point….PRAISE THEM. Praise them in front of their peers, and again in private when you can expand on the good things you witnessed. Learning happens when positive behaviors are reinforced. So…reinforce them.

Be honest. You have to act boldly and show your players not only how to make the “right moves”, but you have to call 'em out when they say the wrong thing…or take a conversation thread in the wrong direction (e.g. missing a strategic signal). Successful selling – and role-playing – hinges on acute listening skills which means YOU need to listen and observe closely to provide “real time course corrections”. This technique is very advanced, but crucially important so you don't let role-plays continue tumbling south. Unfortunately, role-plays can reinforce bad habits and behaviors too. This means you have to stop the action, point out what the seller said that was “wrong” (or, not as ‘right’ as it should be) and have him/her correct it.

Number four above is a very sophisticated technique necessary for successful role-playing and learning. I’m going to end this post now for two reasons: …first, number four is a hard concept to teach through this forum; and second, it’s a big part of what I teach in my practice and why I get paid the “big bucks”! ;-)

I can help individual sales managers learn and apply this crucial, and successful approach to developing talent…so email me at michael@core6advisors.com and we can set some time to talk about how to make your practices better!

​Go Bruins!

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